I just finished reading On Visions and Resurrections in the current issue of Skeptic. This article is horrible! The author, Gary J. Whittenberger, proposes that Jesus's resurrection story is the result of multiple simultaneous hallucinations by at least two of his apostles. Utter nonsense! By far the most logical reason for the resurrection story is that it was just made up. A pox on Gary J. Whittenberger! A pox I say!

The simplest explanation is that Jesus didn't die on the cross. Jesus' crucifixion was stopped early. A coup de grace was required for the two criminals crucified beside him, but Jesus was not given a coup de grace. Only one solitary individual testified to Jesus' death: the centurion in charge, who was apparently a Christian himself. As if this didn't sufficiently compromise his testimony, the penalty for botching an execution was death by torture. So he had every reason to stick loudly to his story. This compromised witness also spoke in support when another Christian asked to retrieve the body; Jesus was removed in the dark after everyone had left to observe Sabbath.

Eyewitness testimony is unreliable whether it was recorded 2000 years ago or five minutes ago. Nor do I blindly trust a policeman's notebook. Even the most reliable ancient historians have to be taken with a grain of salt. The crucifixion/resurrection story is a garbled mess pieced together by people who weren't there.

Most history is an exercise in what is "likely", not "provable". I find it likely that there once lived a Jewish revolutionary named Jesus; that he predicted he would resurrect 3 days after death; that he panicked and changed his mind on the cross; that crucifixion was prematurely terminated by one of his followers; and that an entire cult was founded by people who saw him post-crucifixion and jumped to the conclusion he had resurrected.

I'm interested to study the origions of any cult, so why not this one? It morphed into a religion that drove world history and still controls the thinking of my parents.

Refusing to discuss a subject because the answer is "obvious" will only persuade weak minded people.Many Christians are self-brainwashed and refuse to consider any evidence. But for a few honest believers, seeing internal problems in the bible can be devastating, and eventually lead to an awakening. Hence the list of references I provided in my first post.

The myth of the resurrected god is found in many pre Christian cultures,noticeably within fertility cults,where it is associated with spring.

I do think hallucinations are a reasonable explanation for the bizarre "Book Of Revelations". I've long thought the author(s) were under the influence of an hallucinogen,possibly due to ergot poisoning.

Bunyip wrote:I do think hallucinations are a reasonable explanation for the bizarre "Book Of Revelations".

I've wondered that myself.

I think readers during the period would have understood Revelations as veiled references to contemporary individuals and events. By writing it as a mythical allegory, the author retained plausible deniability while taking potshots at rivals and public figures.